Friday, 29 July 2016

Jar of Fish - Gel Card

This card is entered in the Crazy Crafters Project Highlights this week.  Click here to see all the other great projects and vote for your favourites.

I haven't finished experimenting with the gel card idea yet!  Two of these little fish have been caught in a jar while the others make their escape!
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This card is for a very special couple who I will be visiting soon

I strongly suspect that my treatment of the water and perhaps even the little fish swimming between the waves may have been influenced by the work of others that I've seen on Pinterest although I haven't consciously CASEd anyone.  So I think I should say, if there are any elements of this card that bear a resemblance to something that I may have seen on Pinterest - thank you.

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I should have moved the fish in the jar before I took the photo - one looks a bit ill because he's upside down!

The easel card is made from Dapper Denim card, to which I added a layer of Night of Navy card.

The decorated layers are made from Pool Party Cardstock.  I gave them a watercolour wash with Bermuda Bay and Dapper Denim inks, dried them and then ran them through the Big Shot with the Seaside embossing folder.  I inked another piece of Pool Party card using Bermuda Bay, Dapper Denim and Night of Navy inks and the Swirly Birds stamp set and then cut out the long design from the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits.  I used Dapper Denim ink and an aquapainter to paint some sections to create a bit of depth and then adhered it to the embossed panel, slipping some fish in before the glue dried.

The fish were stamped with Calypso Coral and Watermelon Wonder inks onto Whisper White card using the fish in the Jar of Love set.  I cut them out by hand and then used the Reflection Technique to ink the design onto the back of the fish.  I used Calypso Coral and Watermelon Wonder markers to smooth out the ink and then laminated two of the fish.  (Thanks for the suggestion again go to my reader, Rachel!) I then cut them out again  and popped them into a small zip lock back with some shower gel.

I stamped the jar onto a piece of Bermuda Bay card and snipped out the middle.  I laid this on top of another piece of Bermuda Bay card and drew a pencil line around the cut edge.  I then snipped along those lines.   I created two frames from Dapper Denim card and adhered them to the Bermuda Bay panels and used Fast Fuse to stick the zip lock bag between the two pieces of "jar".  I adhered that to the card front - being careful to apply adhesive only to the bottom of the panel, and added the banner with dimensionals.

I stamped the banner and greeting from Banners For You in Dapper Denim ink and cut it out with the matching die from the Bunch of Banners Framelits (I bought them as a bundle and saved 10%).  I then added a light wash with Dapper Denim ink and dried it quickly to avoid too much blurring.


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The decorated panel is popped up on dimensionals to support the easel.

I repeated the watercolour wash and Swirly Scribbles panels on the inside of the card - just omitting the embossing.

Thank you for visiting
'Til next time
Stephanie

Product List - Click on a product image below to shop in my online store (Australian Residents only)

Wednesday, 27 July 2016

Sweet Sugarplum Cupcake

This card came together very quickly.  The circular frames were already sitting on my desk - remnants from another card and I hadn't yet used the cupcake stamp set so it seemed time to do so.
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The cupcake panel is popped up on dimensionals

I used the Sweet Sugarplum  because it goes so well with the Rich Razzleberry and I wanted to use up those leftover circles.  The Blooms & Bliss Designer Series Paper offers the perfect choices to go with those colours.

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I stamped a second lot of icing, hand cut it and popped it up on dimensionals

I added some Clear Wink of Stella to the icing.

To fit my birthday greeting on a very small square, I used the Teeny Tiny Sentiments set and realigned the sentiment.  I covered over the word "birthday" inked the stamp, removed the cover and then stamped the word "happy".  Then I cleaned the stamp and repeated the process for the word "birthday", using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to line up the words.

I couldn't help adding a little watercolour shading with Crumb cake to the cupcake image.

Thank you for your visit
'Til next time
Stephanie

Product List - To shop in my online store - click a product image below (Australian Residents only)

Monday, 25 July 2016

A Playful Palette of Detailed Florals

I suppose we all have favourites and I have to admit that the Playful Palette Designer Series Paper does not feature as one of my favourites.  I think the colour combinations and patterns aren't a natural fit for my style - so I find it quite challenging.

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I think the bold patterns of the DSP are detracting from the beauty of the oval panel.


I was determined to used some of that paper when I made this card - but I really do think I would have preferred it without!

The main colours in the card are Peekaboo Peach, Cajun Craze and Basic Black.

I cut a panel of Cajun Craze with the Detailed Floral Thinlits and layers that onto a piece of Peekaboo Peach before cutting it out with one of the Layering Oval Framelits.  I then added a Peekaboo Peach frame cut with the same Oval framelit and one the next size down.  I adhered that oval to a Basic Black rectanble and added some Rhinestones and Enamel Shapes.  I cut a banner from the DSP and Cajun Craze and added a piece of Peekaboo Peach Ruched Ribbon.  I also added a bow made with the same ribbon.  There is also a darker panel of the Playful Palette DSP.  The man card is 5.5" square, layered with some Peekaboo Peach card.

The greeting is from Sunburst Sayings and I cut it out with the Classic Label Punch. 

Sometimes the smallest things can make a big difference to the result.  I've included a photo below of the card before I added the Peekaboo Peach oval frame.  I thought it was finished and really didn't like the result.  So I tried adding the frame to the oval.  I still don't love this card, but I think it's acceptable now.  

I decided it was worth posting this little experiment here, particularly for newcomers to card-making, to show that there's very littled that can't be salvaged.  If you're feeling unhappy with a card, it's worth persevering and experimenting with little finishing touches or small changes to layout and you may be pleasantly surprised with the difference.

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This version of the card really bothered me.  I think the addition of the frame helped smooth over the clash of patterns
Thank you for visiting
'Til next time
Stephanie

Product List - To shop in my online store - click on a product image below (Australian Residents only)

Sunday, 24 July 2016

Floral Phrases Sympathy Card

First of all, I must apologise for the quality of the photography.  The need for it arose just as I was preparing to leave for a month away.  By the time it was ready to photograph, I had lost the light - one of the drawbacks of Winter!  I'm so grateful that we have short winters here!
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The colours are grey, Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant and Basic Black
The black ribbon I used is, sadly, retired.




 


I keep telling myself to have always have a sympathy card ready but I never seem to take my own advice - perhaps because I don't really like to make them.  It means that somebody I care about is in pain and grieving.

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The Floral Phrases stamp set is so elegant - it suits almost every occasion

Since this is for a colleague, I've left lots of space for everyone to write a little message or simply sign it.

'Til next time
Stephanie


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